OVER the past few months, the large Beaurepaire Park estate at Bramley, near Basingstoke, has been up for sale at a price of around £3million. The agents are the international property consultants FPD Savills of Grosvenor Hill, in London.

Consisting of about 753 acres, the estate has extensive facilities, including stabling, indoor and outdoor arenas, and various paddocks.

Natural features include lakes, streams, parkland and woodland.

Farmland on the estate is spread over some 480 acres, with several farm buildings. There are two entrance lodges and seven other houses and estate cottages.

The main building is Beaurepaire House, with four reception rooms and seven bedrooms.

Built of brick with a diaper pattern (diamond-shaped symbols) it has a stone cornice and battlemented parapet (similar to castles).

The moat, dating back to the 14th century, surrounds the house, with bridges, gate piers and wroughtiron gates.

Beaurepaire originated from an area of 11 acres that Robert de St John granted to Batholomew Peche in the 14th century. The land became a private estate with a manor house, which was called Clotely at first, then later Beaurepaire. The Peche family retained the estate until John Peche sold the land to Bernard Brocas for 100 silver marks (now £65) in 1353. The Brocas family continued to look after the estate for over five centuries.

Beaurepaire was visited twice by royalty, including Queen Elizabeth I, who called in on her way to The Vyne at Sherborne St John for a “grand entertainment”.

During the Civil War in the 17th century, the house was badly damaged and was left empty for some years. It was finally demolished and rebuilt in 1777.

Upon the death of Bernard Brocas in 1861, the estate was sold to a Mr Alington of Letchworth Hall, Hertfordshire. Then, after that, there were further changes of ownership, including two brothers Henry and Alfred Welch Thornton, who carried out extensive rebuilding and restoration of the houses on the estate.

The early 20th century saw financial problems in the upkeep of the estate, and in the 1920s, certain parts of the land were split up into lots and sold separately.

Meanwhile, the three-storey mansion house was occupied by further owners of the estate, and prior to the Second World War, Sir Strati Ralli and his wife Lady Louise moved into the building.

They had the task of placing black-out material over the many windows to avoid lights showing at night, should any German aircraft fly over and bomb them. But it wasn’t a bomb that caused their evacuation on March 18, 1941 – it was a destructive fire that swept through the upper storey of the house.

Much of the house was affected by smoke and water damage, and over the following years, the mansion was rebuilt.

In 1950, the Rallis moved to London and a timber merchant bought the estate. After cutting down large numbers of trees on the estate, he was stopped by the authorities concerned by the destruction, and, once again, the estate was put on the market.

In 1980, Mr Dwight Makins and his wife moved into Beaurepaire House to enjoy many years living in an attractive part of Hampshire.

Its moat and elegant entrances must surely make the residence one of the most unique buildings in this part of the country.